Allegations Of Bungling By 2nd N.Z.E.F. Staff Officers

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28413, 21 October 1957, Page 19

Allegations Of Bungling By 2nd N.Z.E.F. Staff Officers

(A’eu? Zeaiaiia Press Association)

October 20. i allegations of poor training of .♦aff officers and bad management ./troops during the Second World! tfar were mac’: at the quarterly meeting of the district council of| tie Returned Services’ Associa-i con at Invercargill. fhe meeting wholeheartedly ap-1 rr oved a motion brought by the| 7uatapere sub-association that; ,j, e New Zealand Returned Ser-| Association examine the! position relating to the training of! taff and command organisations! 'f the Dominion's armed forces; yith a view to eliminating the) -disastrous mistakes" made dur-j i n g the last world war. The motion was explained by! jlr G. Mulvey, of Tuatapere. Hej Jaid that New Zealan I had undertaken in the unhappy event of! | var to send overseas a division of troops. It was the fundamental • duty of every citizen, doubly so !-n the case of returned servicemen, to be deeply concerned in .•he welfare of these troops. -It will suffice to show that a case exists for an inquiry.” he caid. “The remit asks that the \ZJ?S.A. institute an inquiry snd if required, urge the Government to carry out comprehensive staff training. “Good grounds exist for reassurance on this point." Mr Mulvey said. “Are members aware

’that during the critical sta CT e of I the Crete campaign, for a space jof some hours. New Zealand nelci the ihiative at IMaleme aerodrome and, if adequately led. could have scored a liactichl victory al a time when ' i Germans were debating (whether or not to carry on? The acid test of the worth of [this remit is this: In the event of war. would you be quite happy |lc see a son of yours go into action under a staff only as well! trained as that under which you! fought?" j

, Mr Mulvey said he based the remit on partly his experiences anc

on recognised authorities. He detailed the books “Panzer Leader.’’ [by Guderian. "Rommel" by Desmond Young, and "Battle for Egypt. ’ by J. L. Scoular.

Mr T. R. Pryde said that while he was not against the remit it must be examined from a more realistic point of view. Before the Second World War, the nucleus of staff officers was supplied by territorials. "What kind of war and what training will be required if there is another war." he asked, “it may be that training now being done will be outdated.” Mr Pryde said he did not know what could be achieved by an investigation. There had always been mistakes, and there always would be. The human element must be considered.